Local residents, including the scriptwriter Salim Khan and yesteryear Bollywood actress Waheeda Rehman, have demanded shifting of a public toilet installed on the Bandstand promenade in suburban Bandra

Waheeda Rehman and Salim Khan

Local residents, including the scriptwriter Salim Khan and yesteryear Bollywood actress Waheeda Rehman, have demanded shifting of a public toilet installed on the Bandstand promenade in suburban Bandra.

Incidentally, last year the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai had roped in actor Salman Khan, Salim Khan's son, to promote its drive against open defecation. Salman's NGO 'Being Human' is supporting the cause.

However, Khan senior is not happy with location of the public toilet which is near his residence. "It's not that we are opposing installation of toilet blocks at Bandstand. We support this move. But if the toilet is built in the middle of promenade, there will be a mess and it will create nuisance," Salim Khan told reporters.

Waheeda Rehman too has reservations about the facility, which she said is opposite her bungalow and the Galaxy Apartments where Salman Khan and his family live. "Yes, I have... signed a petition launched by local people (against the toilet)," Rehman told PTI.

Bandra Bandstand Walkers and Users Forum has lodged a complaint with the civic body regarding the toilet block. Asif Zakaria, local corporator, said he had written to the ward officer on this issue.

"I support the cause of building toilets, but with proper planning. Civic officials are installing toilets by violating the norms brazenly and constructing them on footpaths. MCGM is even building a toilet on a pavement outside Khar telephone exchange which doesn't have sewerage connection," he said.

However, a civic official said these were portable urinals and not toilets. "There will be an attendant round-the-clock. The aim is to provide a urinal facility for walkers and visitors (at Bandstand) and it does not obstruct in anyway," he said.